The Return of Memory

Unofficial histories, suppressed memories and strategies of resistance all converge in our new major group exhibition, which seeks to redress the legacy of the Russian Revolution on its centenary by exploring how contemporary artists are responding to the state of the ‘New East’ today. Rather than a nostalgic look at the past, new commissions and existing works re-activate and repurpose key emblems and stories of this past – from the avant-garde and revolution to the collapse of the Communist system and ideology – addressing key questions around the concept of The Return of Memory, curated by Anya Harrison, Sarah Perks and Olya Sova.

New commissions include a major multi-disciplinary project on St Petersburg’s Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry – one of the world’s largest seed banks – and the future of food security and evolution by Callum Cooper. Ruslan Vashkevich’s video installation Victory Over the Sun, reassesses the politics of the controversial Futuristic opera first organised by Kazimir Malevich and fellow avant-garde artists in 1913. Declan Clarke & Sarah Perks look at exactly who is betrayed by revolution, a legacy to their previous exhibition (What do you do with your revolution once you’ve got it?). You can follow Declan and Sarah’s work through thislinkor by following #OneDaytheSadnessWillEndon our Twitter account.

Subkultura by Artemy Troitsky is co-published by The New Social & HOME, and will be launched on Sat 21 Oct. The exhibition will also include a special film and performance programme.